The Big 0-1!

Oh, my little sweetie, you are one year old already!! Where did the time go? You have grown from a tiny 5 1/2 pound peanut, to a sweet little 6 month old, to a strong, rambunctious toddler in the blink of an eye...

You weigh 23.5 pounds and are 31 inches long. You love being the center of attention and easily command it. You seem to light up every room you enter. We are pretty certain that you can say 3 words: mama, dada, and gee (for KG). You are a busy, busy boy:

crawling

climbing

and WALKING!!!

On Valentine's Day you mastered walking with your walker toys (as seen above). You probably could have done this sooner, but I never gave you the chance. I always held the walker so it wouldn't get away from you. When daddy saw me doing this he told me that I was smothering you and that you could do it on your own. I didn't believe him, but the second I let go, you took off! (Okay, maybe I am a little overprotective). After practicing this for a couple weeks, you took your first unaided step (on March 1)! You were standing by a bookshelf and I was sitting next to you. I held out my arms and, instead of crawling to me like usual, you took a giant step/leap into my arms! When daddy got home we had you walk a couple steps back and forth between us. I have a feeling you'll be running by next month!

The morning of March 1 was very eventful for you! Your first step occurred early in the morning and just a couple hours later you had your first "official" kiss. We were at our weekly ECFE class and you crawled over to a sweet little girl, sat right in front of her, and leaned in for a kiss. It was adorable! All of the moms went crazy and, since you seemed to like the reaction you got, you gave her a couple more kisses. Then you became a bit more aggressive and stuck your hand in her mouth, so I had to intervene (sorry sweetie). I have a feeling that you're going to be quite the ladies man. Here you are practicing in the mirror:

Speaking of kisses, Valentine's Day marked your last, first holiday. Here is the one and only photo that turned out from our photo shoot. You do not sit still for longer than a second these days, so you are a blur in most pictures I take. Luckily, I do not give up easily...

Earlier this month we had an unexpected first- our first call to poison control (after you decided to have spackle for breakfast). Daddy got up with you on a Saturday morning so that I could sleep in (he's the best). He was doing some spackling in your soon to be new playroom. Well, he must have taken his eyes off of you for a second and you took that opportunity to check out his work. When he turned around you had spackle on your hands and mouth. Of course he panicked and ran upstairs to wake me up. I was deep asleep, so panic didn't set in for me right away. However, the warning on the back of the spackle was enough to snap me out of my daze: IF INGESTED DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING. GET MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY. We called poison control fully expecting that we'd be told to call 911 or bring him to the emergency room. Thankfully, they reassured us that Jax would be fine. (Apparently, it's not a big deal unless you eat the whole jar). Whew! Disaster averted. All you needed was a bath to get all the residue off... Good thing rubber duckies aren't toxic!

Other than spackle, you have been eating more and more finger foods (and I am slowly getting over my fear of you choking). Your favorites are bananas, carrots, peas, couscous,  and barley. You're very good at feeding yourself, but about a week ago you realized how much fun it is to play with your food and smashed a bunch of banana into your hair (of course this was right after I had given you a bath). As talented as you are at getting food into your mouth, I am constantly finding it in odd places (like in diapers, ears, and stuck to the side of your nose).

The highlight of the month, by far, was your first birthday party (on March 4). It was a perfect celebration! Nearly 40 family and friends came over to help you celebrate the big day!! Our house was VERY crowded, but we felt blessed to know that everyone came because they love you. You are one lucky little guy... The theme was "One Year Old in a Flash." I set up a photo booth and put together some silly props for everyone to take pictures to put in your guest book. My cousin Becca was kind enough to take the pictures; she also took some of you before the party. I can't wait to see how they turned out! I think your favorite part of the party was the cake. You were a little cautious with the first couple bites, but once you got a taste for the sweet frosting you started taking larger and larger handfuls. It was pretty hilarious! I had to be the bad guy and took it away before you ate too much (hey, it was for your own good).

As your birthday gift, Dad and I re-purposed our junk room into a much more functional playroom. Your friend Christopher's dad re-built the cabinets and we re-painted it from a very pretty lilac to calming aloe (at least it's a little more masculine)... We also got you a ball pool (dad and I are both jealous). Here you are swimming in the ball pool and posing with a few of your other presents:

You were a little off your rocker for a couple days after your party- maybe it was all of that frosting... Yesterday afternoon brought the biggest tantrum I have ever seen out of you (all because I closed the gate so you couldn't climb up the stairs). You turned bright red and kicked and screamed for what felt like hours. Nothing I did could calm you down.

You finally got so tired that you allowed me to pick you up. I got your cozy blanket and boppy and we nestled into the massive recliner in the basement. You slept in my arms for two blissful hours. And I watched you- took in your pouty lips, your round little cheeks, and your long eyelashes. I couldn't help but think that you will outgrow this before I know it. It breaks my heart... Then I drifted off to sleep (apparently your tantrum took a lot out of me, too). Daddy was "nice" enough to snap a pic of this moment...

Today, you actually slept until 6am, which was a big improvement from the typical 4:30-5am wake up time most of this month. You even took an hour-and-a-half long nap this morning!! (Let's hope this is the start of a new trend). This afternoon we went to Sealife Aquarium with your friend Chris to celebrate your big day. Look, you guys are holding hands!

Motherhood is hard, but you have made this past year the most amazing experience of my life, thus far. Although I have only been a mom for 12 months, I can't imagine my life without you. You are the light of my life. I am sad that your baby days are behind us, but am thoroughly enjoying your emerging personality and watching as you learn new things and experience life. I cannot wait to see you continue to grow, but what do you say we try to slow things down just a little bit... Deal?

Happy first birthday, peanut!!
Love, Mom